About Me

Hi there. Thanks for reading my blog. I’m the author of the humorous, murder-mystery novels White PicketPrisons, The Sneaker Tree, and Time To Lie as well as the collection of humor essays Fifty Shades of Phil. Although this is an author’s blog, don’t worry, I don’t blather on about my writing. I mostly make fun of stuff, which is my m.o. in life. I’m a father of three, husband to one, and life-long smart ass to many. My first fiction novel, White Picket Prisons, is an ode to the life-long friends that I grew up with and still keep in touch with to this day. You can reach me at authorphiltaylor@gmail.com

Just finished reading your fantastic interview with Chris, and I want your book. I’ll try to get me a copy here in Spain, I don’t like e-books. So, if I can’t find any, I promise I’ll get it from Amazon or something like that.

Well, you had Your Other Mother at grilled cheeses, but you had me even before then. It was the grand poobah line that pulled me in. Not enough people use the term grand poobah, including myself. Thanks for following my blog. I look forward to reading your smart assery posts.

Morning! Congrats – you are one of the winners of my New Year competition and have won free advertising on my blog for a week. There is an issue with the widgets at the minute but I will sort this out asap!!

Grilled cheese, eh? I consider myself a connoisseur. I can respect a person who endeavors to make the best grilled cheese in the world. As I cannot taste one of your grilled cheese sandwiches, I will have to take your word for it. Be forewarned that I, also, make the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the world. Do we share a recipe? Let’s allow the world to wonder, shall we?

Hi there Phil – am curious where you hail from – I assume UK native (because of your comment that cutely isn’t a word..and that the fact that you are a ervant to your animals and a purveyor of grilled cheese sandwiches) but your pic looks to be taken in the US – or is it Brighton? LIke your bookcovers – did you do them yourself too?

Hi, thanks for stopping by. I’m actually from New York. I didn’t do my book covers. Fifty Shades and The Sneaker Tree were both done by Rene Folsom of Phycel Designs. Beautiful work at a very reasonable price. The cover for White Picket Prisons was done by some nameless bloke at Bookbaby.com

Hey Phil, about time I made my notch on your about page LOL
Thanks so much for your support and taking the time to make the most out of my blog, it’s much appreciated, and I do notice 🙂
Warm regards
Don Charisma

Hello newest Spikey! I know, a bit corny, eh, but that’s the term that has come to stick for those folk who are part of the clan known to be followers of Uncle Spike 🙂
Thank you… I really appreciate that as I for one, know how many interesting and entertaining blogs are out there.
My aim is to deliver an eclectic offering of posts, from my ‘point n shoot’ attempts at basic photography, to the sharing of my travel adventures over the decades, as well as day to day happenings here on the farm. Oh, plus a few observations on life as I see it, thrown in for good measure.
My promise to you is not to be overbearing, just a couple of posts a day, maybe 3 at weekends if I have something special to share. But if you are at a loose end one day, maybe you’ll enjoy trawling through some of my older stuff too. I have added plenty of categories to help in said digging process.
Thanks again and hope you have a great day…
UNCLE SPIKE

Thank you so much for the nomination and thinking of me, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I just don’t like awards that make me create a new post and change my blog format. I know I sound like an ungrateful jerk, but that’s not the tone I’m trying to give.

Really, thank you so much for thinking of me. I did once write a post about my Top Ten Blogging Pet Peeves and blog awards that require you to do all sorts of work was on the list. If there’s an award that doesn’t require work count me in!

I love your site. It is graphically pleasing to my eyes. Are you now a full time writer? Do you have any regrets about getting your master’s? I am thinking about whether or not to get my master’s. I’m only 23 and I’ve already finished undergrad. I’m just working and blogging now.

No, I am not a full time writer, yet. And no, I don’t regret getting my Masters. It has helped me get jobs I couldn’t have with just a Bachelors, plus getting a Masters gives you a lot of practice writing long papers.

Howdy Phil, I have nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award. I bet you are quivering in excitement… or perhaps you might be hitting your head against a wall repeating the phrase “Not another award, not another award!” You don’t have to accept this award, but I would love for you to pop over to my blog and come celebrate! There will be imaginary champagne, disco balls and a drumming cat! What more could one want? Hehe. If you’re interested click on the link: https://insidethelifeofmoi.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/my-big-fat-award-ceremonystrike-two/

Amanda! What are you doing? Are you mad at me? Are you not aware of the unspoken bloggers code? You’ve been blogging over a year now, you must know that giving a blog award is like sending a chain letter. Its the blogging equivalent of those emails from the Namibian King who wants to transfer half his fortune into my bank account. Seriously though, thank you for thinking of me. You’re so nice that for the first time ever I might consider accepting this one. Might.

I’m glad I found your blog Phil! Your Tuesday top 10 sucked me in! I found myself reading about way cats are better than dogs and well, of course I HAD to read why dogs are better than cats! I love your movie suggestions. I’m in!
I look forward to seeing more of your writing!
Penny

Hi Phil, I have just checked out the Bloggers Bash Awards 2018, expecting to see The Phil Factor in the top three funniest blogs, and maybe even at #1, and what do I see? You are not in the top three, and the top two places are taken with Book Review Blogs that are not even funny! (At least there is a funny blogger in 3rd). How is this possible? Then I check the other award winners and most of them are book reviewers! Even the Best Overall Blog is a book review blog! What’s going on? Have the Russians infiltrated the voting? How can Book Review Blogs be so highly rated when they are merely writing about other people’s creativity? (I know, because I was a book reviewer for a short while). There’s something fishy going on here, Phil, don’t you think?

Denzil, thank you for your kind words about my blog. Yes, I too was a little perplexed at book blogs winning The funniest blog category.. I was also perplexed that you didn’t win in the book blog category. I must have voted for you 100 times.

I didn’t mean to hit send on that last comment yet. Yes, on some of the message boards and Facebook groups there has been some tense discussions about the awards results. People on the committee say that that is just how the voting turned out.

Interesting: I wasn’t aware of these discussions. I had no expectations to win, far less get many votes. My book review blog was an interesting winter project for me that I stopped in March. I waggled my toes in the water and to be honest, didn’t like the experiences. Actually my experiences could explain the Bash results. I found that there is a very closely knit and almost incestuous group of people who write (Indie) books and review (mostly Indie) books on their blogs. They all “lurve” each other’s work, blog profusely about each other’s work, give each other 5-stars, reblog each other’s posts, and clearly now, vote for each other’s blogs. There seems to be no other explanation for the most informative blogger being a book reviewer (!), and the Services to Bloggers award being a book reviewer!

P.S. For next year you should call your blog “The Phil Factor – Where Sarcasm Lets its Hair Down and Reviews Books”. You would win in multiple categories!

I wrote a screenplay about this fiction about 25 years ago only I used the real dates of the park being open as I lived down the street and frequented it. Even included the sneaker tree and where it was located. Interesting read. We should compare notes and rebuild this story to take into account some other events at that time.